


Wishing for Silence

by leaper182



Category: The Closer
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:04:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leaper182/pseuds/leaper182
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During "Old Money" (06x11), Provenza finds himself thinking about Flynn after the attack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wishing for Silence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kirakira_sora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirakira_sora/gifts).



> Thanks for the two hippos and volunteer beta-readers who made this fic even better than it could've been. :D

Provenza can't really say _what_ he feels when he'd hears that Flynn's been attacked. Oh, sure, he knows that Flynn's attending one of his AA meetings -- he always goes on Thursday nights -- but it's not a place where you're expecting a guy like Flynn to get into trouble.

Details start to blur in Provenza's mind. He knows that his partner is injured, and that Captain Raydor had to yell at the stubborn son of a bitch to get his ass in the ambulance. Apparently Flynn, being the annoying pain in the ass he is, insisted on giving his statement first and handing over his gun to Raydor before doing the _sane_ thing, and making sure he doesn't die.

Provenza's fingers are twitching as he yanks his wallet out of his pants pocket, takes out a twenty, snatches a balloon at random, and walks out of the gift shop without bothering to get any change back.

There are emotions jumping in, now, getting involved and twisted around. Provenza wants to wring Flynn's neck for making him worry. He wants to make sure Flynn's okay. He wants Flynn to be an annoying pain in the ass. Hell, he won't admit it to anyone, but he even wants Flynn to leave crap all over his desk. Anything to show that Flynn's okay, that he's going to make it.

If Provenza were feeling more introspective than he does at the moment, he'd acknowledge that he's been married too many times to count, but he's only ever had two partners he ever gave a damn about. (Hell, Flynn was the one who stopped him from popping the question to Lauren. Even George hadn't managed that, and they'd been partners for a lot longer.)

He gets on the elevator, nods distractedly to some other visitors, and gets off on the right floor more out of luck than actual planning. He knows it's a bad sign, but at this point, Provenza has to concentrate on something _other_ than Flynn being stupid enough to get himself cut, or else he's not going to be able to concentrate on much of anything.

He makes his way to Flynn's room, not all that surprised to find Chief Johnson there, standing right at the bedside and biting her lip. As much as Chief Johnson can be hard-as-nails, she's a soft-touch at times, but Provenza can respect that. It's hard to look at Flynn's face and not wince.

The swelling's gone down, and he looks like an action-hero gone to seed, who went a few rounds more than he should have, but somehow, the lazy bastard still manages to make it look like it doesn't hurt. The salt-and-pepper hair is catching the harsh lights of the hospital room, and there's swelling around one of his eyes. There are a few cuts here and there, dutifully covered with Band-Aids that look almost artistic, but Provenza knows the worst of the damage is the stuff he _can't_ see.

Chief Johnson glances up from Flynn, noticing Provenza and his bright pink balloon decorated with hearts and flowers. She manages a watery smile, and it's bad when that's the best she can manage. It would've gotten a laugh out of Sanchez, if not Tao.

"It's very sweet, Lieutenant," Brenda manages, her tears sticking in her throat before she clears it.

Provenza snorts, feeling uneasy at the idea of his chief potentially bursting into tears in his presence. Provenza can backpat with the rest of them, but Chief Johnson doesn't make it a habit to fall to pieces in front of her department, not when there are murders to solve or missing people to find. "We'll see what he says when he wakes up."

Brenda manages a wavery smile, this one a bit stronger than before, and tucks a wayward lock of hair behind her ear before turning back to Flynn's unconscious form.

Provenza's gaze slides back to Flynn, and with one part of his brain going over the catalog of injuries, the rest of the older lieutenant's mind is wandering back to places that he'd thought that he'd buried years ago. Darker times, when he never really felt all that in control of himself. Intellectually, he knows that he backslides now and again, when he's angry or frustrated with the way an investigation is going, but he's usually able to shove that to the back of his mind and focus on the matter at hand.

Now... he doesn't have a target for the pent-up anger and frustration. It'd be all too easy to just yell at Flynn when he wakes up for being so stupid as to nearly get himself killed, but he also knows that Flynn was defending himself, and he wasn't expecting the fight. After nearly four decades on the force, Provenza has finally learned that he can't just lash out. He has to let the anger go, because if he doesn't, he's going to do something incredibly stupid himself, and it would be the perfect ammunition for Flynn to laugh at him. He's already having trouble living down the fact it took him nearly a _week_ to find his car after the drug-running ring of stewardesses stole it.

So, while Chief Johnson isn't looking, Provenza closes his eyes for a moment, breathes in deeply, and lets go.

It's actually a trick George Andrews taught him. After years of working together, there wasn't much they _didn't_ know about each other, and George had suggested it whenever one of Provenza's big red buttons had gotten pushed, and he needed to calm down. Nothing worse than a murderer going free on a technicality, so Provenza had taken the hint.

Provenza takes another deep breath, and exhales slowly, imagining his anger flowing out of him, rushing out of his nose. He wrinkles it a few times, because that kind of tickles, but now that he's focused more on his nose than how pissed off he is, things are okay. Things aren't great, but they're better than they were.

Even with his eyes closed, he knows the moment that Flynn awakens, because Chief Johnson shifts a little, her clothes shifting with her, and he hears her reaching towards Flynn. He opens his eyes, and tries to strike the right balance between smart-ass and I-don't-really-give-a-shit-that-you-were-nearly-killed-but-hey-glad-you're-not-dead.

Brown eyes open with visible effort, and Provenza can see the moment they focus on him, and on the balloon that proudly says IT'S A GIRL.

"So, there is a hell."

The woozy mutter makes Provenza's chest unclench, just a little.

Chief Johnson lets out a small huff. "You're not there yet, Lieutenant." The worry in her voice in understated, but there.

Flynn turns back to him, the eyebrow over his swollen eye lifting slowly.

Provenza pretends to bristle defensively. "It's the only one they had in the gift shop."

"Yeah, that's okay," Flynn manages. "Doesn't matter, because I'm not staying."

The fact that Flynn is an idiot for actually trying to get out of bed -- with Chief Johnson fluttering around him like a mother hen -- makes something unclench even further in Provenza's chest. Now that Flynn's awake, aware, and right back to being a pain in the ass, despite being hopped up on drugs, it means that things have a shot of returning to normal.

Captain Raydor comes in, is surprisingly helpful, and somehow actually on their side for once – Provenza already knows that something is up, but when Gabriel wanders in and mentions that Raydor was polite to him, Provenza has confirmation. His world has been turned upside down, but a body in San Bernadino that needs checking out provides him with the opportunity to do some personal damage control. And hey, if it gets him out of a too-sterile hospital room, all the better.

As they're heading for Provenza's car, Gabriel gives him a look that's supposed to be sympathetic, but turns out annoyingly curious.

"You okay, man?" Gabriel asks. "Flynn's gonna be all right. He's tough."

Provenza rolls his eyes. "I am too damn old for you to be mother-henning me, David. Get in the car."

Gabriel stares at him for a long moment, and then nods to himself before getting in the passenger seat.

As Provenza starts the car and drives away, it's blissfully silent, and that's the way it ought to be.


End file.
